Volleyball team looks to continue dominance in MAC; build off Old Friends Crossover Classic

he Elizabethtown College 2013 women’s volleyball team is starting out strong this year with a 2-0 lead in the Commonwealth Conference and an overall record of 7-4 as of Sept. 17. Senior Captain Carolyn Lukiewski said the team’s main focus is to make it to MAC Championships. “Last year we lost in the semi-finals to Messiah, so there is definitely a yearning for redemption this year,” Lukiewksi said. One of Lukiewski’s personal goals of the season is to be the best libero in the MAC Conference.

Etown faced St. Vincent College on Sept. 7 right after their loss to Juniata College the day before. “Juniata is regarded as one of the best teams in the nation. Our team got a good night’s rest and we were ready to take on a new team that we were definitely able to compete with. Our attitude going into the St. Vincent game was one of confidence, and we were able to pull out a 3-1 win,” Lukiewski said.

The team’s biggest win so far this season was against Moravian on Sept. 13. The game did not start until 9:30 p.m. and lasted until 11:45 p.m. It went to five games and Etown was able to walk away with the win. Sophomore Juliana Mowen had 18 kills and Junior captain Kelci Scannapieco had 14 against the Moravian Greyhounds, among many other impressive performances by the Blue Jays. “The energy and excitement that our team brought to the court was incredible, and it was a phenomenal win,” Lukiewski said. This win definitely boosted the team’s confidence as they continue into the rest of their season.

The Blue Jays continued their perfect record with a Commonwealth Conference victory over Arcadia University last night. The victory brings their conference record to 3-0.

Etown shut out the Knights in straight sets to bring their overall record to 8-4. Scannapieco led the team in kills with five. This was also a game high.

Lukiewski controlled the defensive side of the ball with 23 digs.

Sophomore Mary Clyne led the Blue Jays with 16 assists, while sophomore Steph High tallied eight assists to go along with her nine digs in the match.

Sophomore Karley Ice and Mowen helped the Blue Jays to the victory over the Knights. Mowen had nine kills while Ice had three service aces.

“This was the first game all year that we won in three sets and that was a big deal for us.” Scannapieco said. “We are 3-0 in conference now and that gives us a lot of confidence going into our tougher matches like Messiah later in the season.”

This weekend, Etown is hosting the Days Inn Blue Jay Classic in Thompson Gymnasium. They will play York College at 2:30 p.m. and the University of Rochester at 6:30 p.m. on Friday Sept. 20. On Saturday, they will face Stockton College at 10:30 a.m. and Cairn University at 4:30 p.m.

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